Officer and Father Arrest Same Man 28 Years Apart

SALEM, Mass. (AP) – When Salem, Mass., police officer Kevin St. Pierre arrested a man suspected of robbing two stores this week, he thought the suspect’s name sounded familiar. He was right. His father, former Chief Robert St. Pierre, had arrested Clement Lavigne 28 years ago during an investigation of a series of arsons in the city. Kevin St. Pierre was 4 at the time, his dad a lieutenant.

The younger St. Pierre told The Salem News the suspect’s name rang a bell when he made the arrest Thursday, but didn’t realize who he had nabbed until veteran officers reminded him.

Lavigne, then 24, was convicted of the 1982 arsons and spent time in prison.

Lavigne, now 53, pleaded not guilty to breaking and entering and larceny in the new case and was ordered held on $50,000 bail.